Fare box



4 Sheets-Sheet l VE U FARE BOX E. H. THOMPSON Filed Sept. l5, 1930 Jan.10, 1933.

Jan- 10, 1933 E. H. THOMPSON 1,894,071

FARE BOX Filed Sept. l5, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 jig: El q1.. 2

Jan. 10, 1933. EY H. THOMPSON 1,894,071

FARE BOX Filed Sept. l5, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 10, 1933. E, H,THOMPSON 1,894,071

FARE BOX Filed Sept. l5, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 10, 1933UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERNEST H. THOMPSON, F WINNETKA, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNOR T0 JOHNSON FARE BOX COMPANY, 0I' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A'CORPORATION OF NEW YORK FARE BOX Application led September 15, 1930.Serial No. 481,913.

This invention relates to fare boxes for electric cars, buses, theaters,or other vehicles or places where fares or admission fees are required,and particularly to solenoid operated fare boxes of the type disclosedin my Patent No. 1,699,930, issued January 22, 1929.

An important object of the invention is to devise a box adapted toreceive a coin or token of one diameter and a coin or token of a smallerdiameter with means for automatically and selectively discharging thecoins or tokens and causing registration on independent registers of thesmaller and larger coins or tokens.

A further object of the invention is to improve and simplify thearrangement and operation to insure certain and accurate propulsion ofthe coins or tokens and the correct selective registration thereof.

A further object is to provide means automatically controlled by thesize of the coin or token for effecting the operation of the properregistering device.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the various features of myinvention will become apparent from the following Adescription anddisclosures in the drawings.

On the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fare box with thecover removed to show the general arrangement of the parts therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged rear elevation of the coin impeller andregistration controlling mechanism;

Figure 3 is a section on plane III--III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section similar to Figure 3 showing an advanced stage ofoperationof the impeller mechanism 1n conjunction With a coin of largerdiameter;

Figure 5 is a section similar to Figure 4 showing the operation with acoin of lesser diameter; I

Figure 6 is a .section on plane VI-VI of Figure 7 is a section on planeVII-VI1 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a section on plane VIII-VH1 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a section on plane IX-IX of Figure 7 and nected with theimpeller mechanism by link-y age L.

The supporting body for the impeller mechanism comprises a front plate2, a rear plate 3, and a spacing plate 4, the plates being rigidlysecured together and the spacer plate being cut away to receive the coinchute 5 which is open to the exterior of the housing 1 above the topthereof for the insertion of coins or tokens.

The frontplate 2 has upper and lower forwardly extending flanges 6 and 7between which extend the guide rods 8 and 9 for supporting the inipelvertical reciprocation, upper and lower ears 11 and 12 on the carriagereceiving the rods. Extending rearwardly from the side walls of theimpeller carriage and through vertical slots 13 and 14 in the impellermechanism supporting body are the arms 15 and 16 which at their lowerends receive and journal a cam shaft 17 on which is the cam roller 18.

On a shaft 19 extending horizontally through the impeller carriage andjournalled by the side walls thereof is secured by its ears 2O the coinimpeller frame 21, this frame being of L shape and at its lower endhaving its y sides deflected rearwardly to provide abutment or impellerlingers y22 and 23. A support or shoe 23 of U-shaped cross-sectionreceives and is secured to the lower end of the impeller frame 21, itssides 24 and 25 extendin g .alongside of and a distance below theimpeller fingers 22 and 23, the impeller lingers projecting a shortdistance beyond the louter faces of the sides. The .distance between thesupporting sides 24 and 25 is such that coins or tokens of largerdiameter will bridge and rest against the outer faces of the sides ercarriage frame 1() for t" in advance of the impeller ngers, but thecoins or tokens of smaller diameter' will engage between the sides andin advance of theV impeller fingers.

A spring 26 encircling the shaft 19 and abutting against the impellercarriage frame and the supporting sh e 23 tends to swing the impellerstructure towards the coin chute 5, but when the impeller carriage is atits upper position such inward swing is prevented by the abutment of theimpeller.` frame against the ridge or knob 27 extending forwardly fromthe plate l/Vhen the carriage 10 is moved downwardly the impeller framewill be released from the knob asindicated in Figures 4 and 5. Upon suchrelease of the impeller frame theimpeller lingers 22l and 23 will beprojected through longitudinal slots 27 and 28 in the impeller mechanismsupporting body and into the coin chute 5 and into engagement with acoin or token which has been deposited in the chute. As will be fullyexplained later, a deposited coin is held in a certain position withinthe chute, within the range of movement of the impeller frame. lf, asindicated in Figures 3 and 4 a coin or token X of larger diameter wasdeposited, the outward swing of the impeller frame will be limited bythe engagement of the outer fac-es of the sides 24 and 25 Vwith thecoin, but if a coin orV token of smaller diameter was deposited then thesides 24 and 25 will pass the coin edges and receive the coin betweenthem, the impeller frame thus swinging out a greater distance.

Against the back of the plate 3 near the bottom thereof is secured aU-shaped bracket 29 supporting a shaft 30 in its sides, a block 31 ofinsulating material being mounted at its lower end on the shaft andextending upwardly. Atene side this insulating block has secured theretoa terminal plate 32 having an ear 33 extending therefrom which supportsa pin 34. A link 35 has an elongated slot 36 at its lower end receivingthe pin, and this link at its upper end is received by the cam shaft 17so that as the impeller carriage 10 is shifted downwardly the insulatingblock 31 will be swung outwardly from the plate 3. l

At its opposite side the insulating block 31 has secured thereto aterminal plate 37, the terminal plates 32 and 37 being on opposite sidesof the slot 33 in the upper end of the block. Extending forwardly fromthe terminal plate 32 and through the block is a contact post 39, and aContact post 40 extends forwardly from the terminal plate 37 and throughthe block, these contact postsextending respectively through the slots.27 and 23 in the impeller mechanism supporting body so that they maynormally project into the coin chute 5, as shown in Figure 3, to be inthe path of coins or tokens deposited inthe chute. Aspring 41 tends tohold. the insulating block normally in its inner position with itscontact posts within the coin chute.

The contact posts 39 and 40 form the terminals of an electrical circuitC supplied with current from a source B (Figure 1), this circuit alsoincluding the winding of the solenoid structurev Si.V The armature coreor plunger 42 for the solenoid is guided in a tube 43 having the slot 44through which a pin 45 extends from the plunger, the vpin engaging theslotted end of a lever 46 fulcrumed intermediate its ends at 47. At itsother end the lever 46 has an abutment pin 48 engaging in a slot 49 inthe link structure 50. At its upper end this link structure is connectedwith the outer end of a pin 51 extending from the impeller carriage 10.A spring 52 suitably anchored at one end to the housing 1 and connectedat its other end with an arm 53 on the lever 46 tends to normally holdthe left end of the lever down as indicated in Figure 1, in whichposition the solenoid plunger is down and the link structure 50 is up tohold the impeller carriage in its upper position. When a coin isdeposited and engages with the contact posts 39 and 40 the circuit Cwill beclosed and the solenoid will be energized to draw up its plungerwhereupon the lever 46 will rotate and by drawing downk the linkstructure 50 will cause the impeller carriage 10 to move downwardly.When the circuit is broken the spring 52 will assist the weight of thesolenoid plunger in resto-ring the impeller carriage to its upperposition.

Secured to the back of the plate 3 above the shaft 17 is a U-s/hapedbracket 53 securing between its sides the shaft 54. A cam lever 55 hasears 56 receiving the shaft 54 and the lever extends downwardly behindthe shaft 17 and the cam roller 18 thereon. Below the ears 56 the camlever has the inclined section 55 in front of which the cam roller ispositioned when the impeller carriage is in its upper position, asindicated in Figure 3.

A pressure lever 57 extends between the cam lever and the plate 3 and isalso pivoted on the shaft 54, the pressure deflection or foot 58 at thelower end of the lever being opposite the clearance space vor slot 59 inthe plate 3 through which the pressure foot may pass for engagement witha coin deposited in the coin chute 5.

Between the cam lever an the pressure lever is an auxiliary lever 60having fulcrum connection at its upper end with the lever 57 asindicated at 61 and at its lower'end having the foot 62 below thepressure foot 58 for assisting the pressure foot in aligning and holdinga coin during discharge thereof from the chute after the contact posts39 and 40 have been withdrawn from the coin. The levers 57 and 60 areyieldingly held against the coin by means of a spring 62 interposedbetween the cam lever 55 and the lever 60, the

spring being held in position by a post 63 extending from the lever 57,as best shown in Figure 3. During initial downward movement of theimpeller carriage 10 the cam ioller 18 engaging with the incline 55 ofthe cam lever will quickly swing the levers inwardly to bring the feet58 and 62 into association with and to hold a deposited coin, and thenduring further downward travel of the impeller carriage and the camroller, the cam lever will beheld in its inner position and the pressurelevers will be yieldingly held in association with the coin by thepressure exerted by the spring 62 directly against the lever 57 throughthe fulcrum connection 61.

As has already been explained, a coin or token of larger diameter willpermit forward swing of the impeller frame 21 a certain distance whenthe impeller carriage is shifted downwardly, while a coin or token ofsmaller diameter will permit further movement of the impeller frame.This difference in travel of the impeller frame is utilized forcontrolling the selective registration of the larger and smallerdiameter coins or tokens. Secured to the end of the impeller supportingshafts 19 at the outside of the impeller carriage frame 10 is anactuating arm 65 whose distance of swing is determined by the distanceof swing of the impeller frame 21. At the rear wall of the housing 1 ispivoted a lever 66 which extends forwardly and terminates in arectangular hook end 67. Below this lever a lever 68 is pivoted near theback of the housing 1 and extends forwardly and terminates in arectangular hook end 69, the hook ends normally enclosing a rectangularspace into which projects the laterally eX- tending abutment flange 70at the outer end of the arm 65. When a coin of larger diameter isdeposited in the chute and the impeller carriage is then shifteddownwardly to release the impeller member 21, this member can swing onlya limited distance and the arm 65 will be correspondingly limited in itsinward swing. As shown in Figure the end a of the hook of the lever 66will be in the path of the abutment flange 20 on the arm and the lever66 will be swung. If aA coin of smaller diameter is deposited theimpeller member 21 may swing farther and the arm 65 can correspondinglyswing a greater distance inwardly and then its end 70 will be clear ofthe end a of the lever 66 and the end b of the lever 68 will be in thepath of the flange 70 so that upon downward shift of the impellercarriage the lever 68 will be swung downwardly.

Extending from the lever 66 is a link 71 having a pawl end 72 forengaging the ratchet wheel 7 3 at the end of a cyclometer or counterstructure 74 forming part of the register mechanism R. From the lever 78a link 75 extends and terminates in a pawl 76 for engaging with theratchet wheel 77 on the cyclometer or counter 78.l Springs 79 and 80connect with the links and tend to hold the pawl ends thereof inoperative engagement with the ratchet wheels. Now when the arm 65 is inposition to engage the end a of le ver 66 when the impeller carriage isshifted downwardly, resulting swing of the lever 66 will shift the pawllink 71 into engagement with the next tooth of the ratchet wheel 73 andthen when the impeller carriage is returned to its upper position theflange 70 of the arm 65 will. engage with the upper side of the lever 66and the resulting upward pull of the link 71 will cause advancement ofthe ratchet wheel 7 3 a distance to cause rotation of the cyclometer orcounter 74 to register one point so as to count the coin which wasdeposited during such stroke of the impeller carriage. On the otherhand, if the arm 65 is in position to cooperate with the end b of thelever 68, the link 75 will be operated and the cyclometer or counter 78will be advanced one point, the cyclometer 74 thus counting the coins oflarger diameter and the cyclometer 78 counting or registering the coinsor tokens of smaller diameter.

Describing now the operation, suppose that the box is designed for thereception of dimes and tokens of somewhat smaller diameter than that ofdimes. Assume now that a dime has been deposited. As shown in Figure 3this dime will travel through the chute 5 and come to rest against thecontact posts 39 and causing closure of the circuit C and energizationof the solenoid S. As the solenoid plunger is drawn upwardly, theimpeller carriage will travel downwardly. During the short initialmovement of the impeller carriage the cam roller 1S will engage with theincline of the cam lever 55 and the levers 57 and 60 will be swunginwardly to bring the pressure foot 58 against the face of the dime andthe foot 62 below the edge of the dime, the dime being thus held inposition independently of the contact posts. During such initialdownward travel of the impeller carriage the impeller member 21 willalso be released from the knob 27 and will be swung inwardly by thespring 26 with its impeller fingers 22 and 23 in the coin chute abovethe upper edge of the coin and with the ends of the .sides 24 and 25 ofthe shoe 23 engaging against the front face of the dime, as shown inFigures 4, 6, and 8.

During the initial movement of the impeller carriage the link 35 willtravel downwardly but until the upper end of the slot 36 reaches the pin34, the insulating block 31 will remain in normal position to hold thecontact posts within the coin chute below the coin. Upon furtherdownward movement of the impeller carriage and the link 35 the block 31will be swung downwardly to withdraw the contact posts from the coinchute and away from the coin and the coin will then be held solely bythe pressure of the levers 57 and 60 while the cam roller travels alongthe lower end of the cam lever 55. Shortly after the initial movement ofthe impeller carriage and projection into the coin chute of the impellerlingers 22 and 23, these lingers 'will engage the upper edge of the coinand as the impeller carriage continues to travel downwardly the coinwill be shifted downwardly in the chute and from underneath the feet ofthe levers and will then fall by gravity to the bottom of the containerl.

l preferably use the coin or token only for initially closing thecircuit C and thereafter asuitable switch D will keep the circuit closeduntil the impellercarriage has been shifted its full distancedownwardly. Referring to Figure l, the switch D comprises a switch lever8l pivoted intermediate its ends, its lower end being in the path of therounded upper end of the arm 53 on the lever 46 which is swung by theupward movement of the solenoid plunger. A spring 82 normally holds theswitch lever Sl away from a contact 83. Shortly after the circuit wasclosed by the engagement of the dime with the cont-act posts the arm 53swung the switch lever 8l into Contact with the contact 83 to close thecircuit 8d in shunt of the contact posts so that the switch structurewill then lreep the circuit closed independently of the coin for theoperation of the solenoid. Alfter the solenoid plunger has been drawnfully upwardly the arm 53 will have been swung to release the switchlever 6l so that the spring 82 may return the lever to its normalposition whereupon the circuit is opened and then the weight of thereleased plunger and the spring 52 cooperate to restore the impellercarriage to its upper position and the spring ll finally restore thecontact post supporting block Ll-l to its normal position for thereception of another coin on the posts.

As the dime which has been deposited is of a diameter sullicient to spanthe ends of the sides 2li and 25 of the impeller shoe 23 the swing ofthe arm was correspondingly limited and during downward travel of theimpeller carriage the flange end of the arm cooperated with the lever 66to cause downward mov ment of the link 7l for setting of the pawl end 72relative to the ratchet wheel 7 3 and then during return of the impellercarriage to its upper position the ratchet wheel was rotated for a onepoint turn of the counter or cyclometer 74 to count the deposited andejected dime.

Then a token which is of smaller diameter than a dime is deposited itwill be received between and within the sides 24 andY when the impellercarriage is shifted downwardly and the impeller frame 2l fs swung`rearwardly, as indicated in Figures 5, 7, and 9. rlhe arm 65 will thenbe permitted to swing` a greater distance and as the impeller carriageis shifted downwardly and the impeller lingers 22 and 23 shift the coindownwardly the flange end 70 of the arm 65 will engage with the end b ofthe lever 68 and the pawl link 75 will be set relative to the ratchetwheel 71 so that during return movement of the impeller carriage toupper position the counter or cyclometer 78 will be advanced one pointto count the deposited and discharged token. rlhus with a singleimpeller member either coins of one diameter and tokens of a. smallerdiameter are accurately received and discharged and independentlyautomatically registered on separate counters.

lt is evident that the impeller member may be adapted for cooperationwith coins of different diameter, or tokens of different diameters7 or acoin and a token of different Vdiameter. Changes and modifications inconstruction, arrangement and operation may also be made withoutdeparting from the scope and principles of the invention.

l claim as my invention:

l. ln a fare boX having a chute, means normally within said chute forarresting and postioning a deposited token, an impeller member adjacentto said chute, spaced apart arms on said impeller member and impellerfingers at the upper endsof said arms, means to move said impellermember toward said chute, the distance between said arms being greaterthan the diameter of certain tokens but less than the diameter of othertokens whereby when said impeller member is moved it will project itsimpeller lingers into the chute above a deposited token and the ends ofits arms past a token when of a smaller diameter but against the tolrenwhen of a larger diameter', means for shifting said impeller memberbodily downwardly and withdrawing said arresting means from said chutewhereby the tolren may be ejected from the chute, independentregistering devices for the tokens of smaller diameter and the tokens oflarger diameter, actuating mechanism controlled by said impeller memberfor cooperating with said registering devices, the cooperation of saidimpeller member with a tolren of small diameter ora token of largerdiameter determinino the selective cooperation of said actuatingmechanism with said registering devices.

2. ln a fare box having a chute, means normallv within said chute forarresting and positioning a deposited fare token, an impeller memberoperable adjacent to said chute, means for moving said impeller memberlaterally, impeller fingers on said impeller member and tokencooperating means below said fingers adapted upon lateral movement ofsaid impeller member to beprojected into said chute with the lingersabove adeposited tolren, said token cooperating means being adapted toengage with the face of a token of larger diameter whereby to limit llOthe lateral movement of said impeller member and to pass a token ofsmaller diameter whereby to permit greater lateral movement of saidimpeller member, means for shifting said impeller member downwardlyafter lateral movement thereof and for withdrawing said arrester meansfrom said chute to permit ejection of the token, individual registeringmeans for tokens of larger diameter and tokens of smaller diameter,actuating means for said registering means, and means controlled by thedegree of lateral movement of said impeller member for selectivelyoperating said actuating means and. thereby said registering means.

3. In a fare box having a chute for fare tokens ot different sizes,means normally within said chute for arresting and positioning adeposited token, a single impeller member having impeller abutmentsthereon, means for moving said impeller member laterally to project saidabutments into said chute, means on said impeller member for cooperatingwith a deposited token and controlled by the size of the token todetermine the degree of lateral movement of said impeller member,individual register mechanisms for the fare tokens of different sizes,means controlled by the degree of lateral movement of said impellermember for selecting the corresponding register mechanism for operation,means for withdrawing said arresting means from a deposited token, meansfor vertically reciprocating said impeller member to cause ejection of adeposited token, and means operative during such reciprocation to causeoperation of the selected register mechanism.

4. In a fare box of the class described having a chute for the receptionof fare tokens, means normally within said chute for arresting andpositioning a deposited token, a single impeller member having impellerfingers, means Jfor deflecting said impeller member to carry saidfingers into said chute above a deposited fare token, arms on saidimpeller member below said impeller fingers adapted upon deflection ofsaid impeller member to project into said chute to abut against adeposited token of larger diameter and to straddle a token of lesserdiameter whereby to determine the degree of deflection of said impellermember, independent register devices for fare tokens of larger and ofsmaller diameter, actuating means for said register devices, operatingmeans controlled by the degree of movement of said impeller member toselect the actuating means of the correspondin g register device foroperation, means for withdrawing said arresting means from a deposit-edtoken, means for shifting the impeller member to eject a deposited taretoken from the chute, and means for actuating t-he sepcted registerdevice to count the ejected to en.

member for selecting the corresponding registering device for operation,and means for moving said impeller member longitudinally to eject atoken from said chute and to operate the selected registering device.

` 6. In a fare box having a chute for receiving fare tokens of differentsizes, meansfor positioning a deposited token in said chute, individualregistering devices for the diiferent sized tokens, a. single impellerand ejecting member and means tending to swing said- Y member laterallyinto ejecting engagement with the deposited token, said impeller memberhaving laterally ofl'set seats for receiving deposited tokens ofdiii'erent diameter whereby the degree of swinging movement of saidimpeller member is determined, means controlled by the degree ofmovement of said impeller member for selecting the correspondingregistering device for operation, and means for moving said impellermember` longitudinally to eject a token from said chute and to operatethe selected registering device.

7. In a fare box having a chute for receiving fare tokens, means forpositioning a deposited token in said chute, a single impeller memberoperable adjacent to said chute and formed with an ejecting surfacearranged to engage with the upper edge of a deposited token, means fordeiiecting said impeller..

member in a direction transversely of said chute for ejecting engagementof said ejecting surface with a deposited token, means controlled by thesize of a deposited token for determining the degree ot defiection ofsaid impeller member7 individual register devices for fare tokens ofdifferent sizes, means controlled by the degree of deflection of saidimpeller member for selecting the correpending registering device foroperation,r`

means for shifting said impeller member in a direction parallel withsaid chute to eject an engaged token therefrom, and means for actuatingthe selected register device to count the ejected token.

8. In a fare box having a chute for receiving fare tokens, means forpositioning a deposited token in said chute, a single impeller memberoperable adjacent to said chute and formed with an ejecting surfacearranged to engage with the upper edge of a deposited token, means fordelecting said impeller member in a direction transversely of said chuteJfor ejecting engagement of said ejecting surface With a depositedtoken, stop -5 means on said impeller member for engaging with the sidefacerof a deposited token and controlled by the size of the token fordetermining the degree of deilection of said impeller member7individual. register devices 1.0 for fare tokens of different sizes,means controlled by the degree of deflection of said impeller member forselecting the corresponding registering device for operation, and meansfor moving said impeller member f in a direction parallel With saidchute to eject an engaged token therefrom and to operate the selectedregistering device.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at Chicago, CookCounty,

Illinois.

ERNEST H. THOMPSON.

